He made several veiled references to the absence of Ant, at one point saying following the news had been "unavoidable" in recent weeks, but did not explicitly mention why Ant was missing.

And he waited until the very end of the show to express his heartfelt thanks for the support the audience had given him.

Saturday Night Takeaway is said to have been "plunged into chaos" as producers try to decide how to address Ant McPartlin's absence from the show.

ITVSaturday Night Takeaway Dec Donnelly opened the ITV show alone

Merchant then asked Dec if he needed a hand presenting as there was "a little bit of space on the stage", before the pair exchanged a joke about their height difference.

Following the airing of the pre-recorded sketch which saw Ant and Dec reunited, Merchant said: "That other guy was good, you should do more stuff with him".

The live Saturday night entertainment show will return to TV tonight and the biggest part of the show is the live audience.

Dec confirmed in a statement posted to Twitter on March 21 that he would be hosting this week's show and would also be fulfilling the show's promise to take deserving viewers to Universal Studios in Florida during the Place on the Plane segment for the final show of the series.

Social media was awash with supportive comments from viewers at home who were touched by Dec's "emotional" appearance without his partner - although eagle-eyed fans did notice he was "nervous". "I knew he would be incredible, well done @antanddec!"

Recommended:

Department of Defense (DoD) Undersecretary Robert Wilkie will be the Acting VA Secretary in Shulkin's absence. "Dr. Bush administration, and has been the lead doctor monitoring Trump's health since Trump became president.

While BJP is claiming to reclaim the power again this time, the Siddramiah government is also pretty confident about their win. The Election Commission, later in the day, set up a committee of senior officials to probe the leak of the poll schedule.

Saha also admitted that the team could face a problem initially but then they have a string bench strength to replace players. The official account of the team posted the news on Twitter and the team is yet to announce the new skipper for the side.

The researchers suggested that DF2 could be an old tidal dwarf galaxy, formed from the gas cast out of other merging galaxies. What had seemed to be dim basic galactic structures in Dragonfly's view appeared as point-like sources in the Sloan image.

She received a grand welcome and was appointed as physician-in-charge of the female ward of the Albert Edward Hospital, Kolhapur. It was her husband, who wrote to the Royal Wilder, a well-known American missionary, speaking of Joshi's interest in medicine.

It is the first time Joshua hasn't won with a knockout. "Your promoter [Eddie Hearn] said I need to raise my profile". If I do win, I haven't spoken about it much, but providing I do get this win we're going to set history in late 2018.

Researchers from New York University's School of Medicine have found a new human organ they've called " interstitium ". Last year, an Irish surgeon discovered the mesentery , which connects the intestine to the abdomen.

Ontarians want an end to "this scandal-ridden government", she said, and "are exhausted of broken promises and wasteful spending". Ford has said a Tory government would focus on tackling the provincial debt, which is projected to be $325 billion in 2018-2019.

Popular

Nintendo Switch users urged to not use third-party docks
We really hoped this would happen sooner so that we Switch fans could experience Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom on a handheld. One user named Sean told Kotaku that his Switch quit working after connecting it to his Nyko Portable Switch Docking Kit .

Judge Rejects Walker's Request To Delay Election Order
Nate Zimdars, 25, of Ripon said he was surprised when he learned his representative's seat could be vacant for more than a year. Critics say voters in areas with no lawmaker for months don't have anyone representing them in the legislature.

'Baaghi 2' has best opening of 2018
In UAE-GCC, it has opened HIGHER than Fox Star Studios' major releases Jolly LLB 2 [65% higher] and Judwaa 2 [25% higher]. Hence, viewers were eagerly waiting for a big entertainer like Baaghi 2 , and the first-day collection reflects the same.

'Sharknado' franchise mercifully ending with sixth film
Syfy has decided that its upcoming TV movie Sharknado 6 will serve as the final installment in the long-running B-movie franchise. Now it seems he'll be going back in time to set it all right and prevent it from ever happening in the first place.

Rusty Staub, Mets legend, dies at 73
He owned and operated two popular Manhattan restaurants that bore his name, and authored a children's book titled "Hello, Mr. Eleven days earlier he had almost died from a heart attack during a flight home from Ireland.

LiAngelo Ball To Enter The 2018 NBA Draft
The NBA mock draft website NBADraft.net predicts Hudson as the 52nd overall pick, late in the second round to the Chicago Bulls. The 6-foot-6 wing began his collegiate career at Virginia Tech, where he played two seasons before transferring to Florida .

SoftBank builds world's largest solar power plant
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) invested about $54 billion a year ago according to data from the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son revealed the project Tuesday in NY at a ceremony with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.